Identity Crisis
by The Perpetual Lurker
Summary: The engagement was arranged when Serenity and Endymion were children. Now that the time has come for the wedding, however, Endymion has decided it's a good time for a vacation....
1. In which Sere has a nightmare

Yay! I finally start posting! Lessee.... Thanks go to Mikazuki for her great plot idea, to my sister and to Dragon Knight Slade for helping me edit, and to Takeuchi Naoko for letting us play in her stories. Various major and minor characters (which I'm sure you'll recognize on sight) are my own creation, but I don't think you guys are near as interested in them as in Serenity and Endymion, so let the show begin!  
  
~Lurker 7/19/03  
  
"Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty! Ready or not, here I come!" The Princess Serenity leaned back from the tree that had been supporting her and uncovered her eyes. She peered around at the garden and shrugged. Just because she couldn't see Endy right away didn't mean he wasn't hiding behind that fountain, or over there in the bushes. "Here I come!" she shouted again, and ran off between the trees, dragging her toy cat behind her. Mama said she was getting too big for stuffed animals, but Sere and Kitty had been together since Sere was born, and she wasn't giving her best friend up just because she had had her fourth birthday last month.  
  
The garden was big enough that Endy could be almost anywhere, with lots of overhanging branches and tall bushes - perfect places to hide - but Sere didn't mind the time spent looking. She was glad to play with her new friend. She'd been nervous to meet him, especially for that first minute when he'd glared at her and she'd thought he didn't like her, but when the moment had passed, he'd suggested they play hide-and-seek outside. Sere had happily agreed.  
  
~~  
  
Part of Sere recognized this dream. She'd hoped her nights of remembering were over.  
  
~~  
  
Sere felt like she'd been running forever. Endy couldn't really have gone that far, could he? She stopped to catch her breath and quickly looked around. Not here behind the bushes, not under the stone bench by the path.... Where could he be? She was getting tired of looking, and the sky was growing darker. She could see blackened clouds gathering overhead and hear a rumble of thunder in the distance.  
  
"Endy? I'm tired of playing!" she called. "Ally-ally-in-come-free!" She took a few steps and swung open the door to a small shed. "Endy? Are you in here?"  
  
The shed held nothing but gardening supplies, gathering cobwebs in dark corners. Sere shuddered, a little afraid of the shadows, especially with the sunlight from outside fast disappearing. She was about to turn and leave, when she felt a rough push to her back. As she sprawled in the dirt, tears coming to her eyes, she could see Endy standing over her. "That hurt! My knee hurts...." and she looked down at the offending limb. "It's bleeding! You skinned it!" Sere cried harder now, glancing up to see a look of disdain in his cold eyes.  
  
"You stupid crybaby." He reached down and snatched Kitty away from her grasp. "Maybe I'll leave you in here a while."  
  
As she struggled to her feet, Endy slammed the door shut, leaving her in stark blackness. Even as Sere ran to the door, hitting it with her fist in anger, she could hear him slamming home the outside latch, meant to keep out animals and the weather. She fell against the door screaming. "Let me out! Let me out!"  
  
After a few moments, her cries became more plaintive. "Please, let me out! Is anyone there? Mama? Kitty?"  
  
Rain began to fall against the metal roof, the sounds echoing through the small enclosure, while the rolls of thunder grew louder. Sere wondered if anyone could even hear her above the noise, and whether anyone would ever come to save her. She finally sank to her knees, ignoring the shoot of pain through her injury, and cried.  
  
~~  
  
Sere sat straight up in bed, sweat dripping through her hair. The thunder outside her room drew her attention and she lept to shut the window before more rain could blow in. That task accomplished, she shakily sat back down on the edge of her bed and reached for a pillow, hugging it close to her.  
  
The thunder had brought back memories she'd thought long gone. She'd been much younger, then, and easily frightened, and had convinced herself in the years past that she'd read too much into his expressions, his actions. Children were children after all, often cruel without meaning to be.... Surely he'd changed since then, just as she too had grown up.  
  
It was only nights like this, when the thunder wrapped around her and filled her ears, when the rain poured down in torrents, that she found herself reliving that day in her dreams. Only recently, in the last few months. She could see him still in her mind, with those cold, blue eyes of a cruel boy.... The eyes of the man she was now engaged to.  
  
Sere leaned carefully toward the small dressing table by her bed, reaching out for the battered, threadbare lump laying there. She cradled the raggedy stuffed cat against her chest.  
  
"Oh, Kitty...." she mumbled. "How will I do this? How can I?" 


	2. In which a prince goes AWOL

Yay! Here's chapter one.... Thanks go to my sister, for putting up with me constantly   
  
asking her "how does this sound?", to Syrinx for some excellent comments and suggestions,   
  
to Mukazuki for her plot idea, and to Naoko Takeuchi for letting us play with her universe.   
  
Lurker 8/09/03  
  
~~  
  
The office was nicely furnished, with marble countertops and floors that shone under the   
  
lighting. As he waited, Coren noticed the lack of dust on every surface. This Hold, at least,   
  
was possessed of either an impeccable cleaning staff or a surplus of cadet trainees, he mused   
  
with an inward grin. Even the areas too high for most people to see easily were scoured   
  
clean.   
  
Coren, with his lanky body and long legs, often took an interest in spying out 'hidden'   
  
places and determining whether the janitors had been up to par lately. An inane pastime, he   
  
readily admitted, but then he did need something to keep himself occupied when he had to   
  
wait around - as happened often when you kept company with someone like Mila. This   
  
occupation, at least, was relatively harmless. Lately, Coren had taken to keeping a running   
  
tally in his head, and out of the five Holds he'd had occasion to visit in the last few years, this   
  
was by far the cleanest.  
  
He glanced at the pudgy lieutenant - Stan, wasn't it? - behind the desk, noticing with   
  
satisfaction that the officer avoided his gaze and nervously shuffled through some papers.   
  
Coren's height and fiery red hair often belied his rather mild interior, and to his way of   
  
thinking, that was all to the good. In situations like this, when a bit of intimidation could speed   
  
up a lot of red tape, it paid to look intimidating.  
  
He was startled out of his thoughts when a junior officer appeared, trailing Mila behind   
  
him. She looked none the worse for wear, although he could tell she wasn't in the best of   
  
spirits. That was only to be expected, after all.... Who would enjoy a week's stay in the   
  
Hold?  
  
Coren folded his arms and leaned back against the white wall, ready to settle in for   
  
another long wait while Lieutenant Stan sorted through paperwork. He purposely avoided   
  
looking at Mila for too long. It wouldn't do to be anything but business-like and deliberate   
  
here.  
  
"Hiya, Stan!" Mila grinned. "Didja miss me?"  
  
"I'll be glad when you're out of here, girl."  
  
"Aw, Stan...." She pouted. "And here I thought you liked me."  
  
The hapless Stan coughed and turned back to his desk, taking up a pen to mark on the   
  
proper forms. He was finished in quite short time. "I'll just need your signature here, sir, and   
  
here, and the fifty gold fee, please."  
  
Coren obliged, laying a small pouch on the desk. He took up a pen and signed while the   
  
Guard counted out the small gold pieces.   
  
"Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty. Looks like it's all here. All right, Karl, let'er off the binders."  
  
The young Guard nervously did as he was told, fumbling with the key before discharging   
  
the energy cuffs that kept Mila's hands pinned behind her back. She rubbed at her wrists   
  
absently.  
  
"Thanks," Mila said shortly, the irritation clear in her voice. She stalked past him to the   
  
door, her boots squeaking on the floor, and paused with her hand on the brass doorknob   
  
when Stan's voice reached her.  
  
"Try to stay out of trouble for a while, Mila. Karl here's been talking about naming the   
  
Hold after you."  
  
Mila's eyes darted to the younger Guard, who flushed red at the comment. He moved his   
  
mouth wordlessly for a moment, looking like nothing so much as a beached fish, until he came   
  
up with an explanation. "Was a joke," he said briefly.  
  
"Of course," Mila nodded gravely. Coren sighed inwardly in relief at her response - it   
  
wouldn't be a great idea to offend members of the Guard right now, and Mila was usually   
  
more... careless in how she expressed herself. He'd half expected her to burst out laughing at   
  
the young Karl's obvious crush on her.  
  
Mila glanced over to where Coren was standing, silently, watching the byplay. "You   
  
ready?" she asked. "Let's go." She tossed her long ponytail over a shoulder and pushed the   
  
door open.  
  
They walked side by side down the Corridor for a while, obeying a silent injunction not to   
  
speak until well away from the Hold. Although the walls of the tunnel were painted, the   
  
ceiling had been left untouched, and the natural rock overhead sparkled in the artificial light. It   
  
became more and more crowded as they moved towards the nearest market area. Mothers   
  
carrying toddlers on their hips pushed past businessmen talking anxiously into communicators   
  
- and of course, around and through it all was the inescapable presence of the Priesthood.   
  
Men and women in the traditional red and white were on every corner, overseeing every   
  
aspect of Martian life: recording business transactions so the tithe could be levied later, settling   
  
disputes, or simply providing an unmistakable reminder that the Priesthood was watching, no   
  
matter where you went. Coren shuddered. The sooner they were off Mars, the better. It   
  
had been a misfortune that they were so close to the planet when stopped by a patrolling   
  
Guard - although, he admitted, it had worked in their favor in some ways. Mars' religious   
  
leaders, wary of losing too much influence to a secular organization, had stripped the Guard   
  
here of most of its powers long ago. The most they could do now was hold Mila for a week,   
  
and levy a stiff fine.... If they'd been caught farther from system center, the Guard there might   
  
have mistaken them for the pirate raiders that had become more and more prevalent in recent   
  
months, and then he and Mila would have found themselves mining ore on Pluto for the next   
  
twenty years.  
  
  
  
The fine had been plenty bad enough, though.  
  
Mila enjoyed the companionable silence for a while, reveling in her newly-won mobility. A   
  
week in the Hold was a mild punishment, compared to what could happen on other planets,   
  
but she had never enjoyed being cooped up. After the torturous time spent in her cell, even   
  
the underground Corridors where most of Mars' population lived sparked none of her usual   
  
claustrophobia, as long as she didn't think about all the weight of dirt pressing overhead. This   
  
last week was not an experience she was anxious to repeat.... She'd just have to make   
  
doubly careful that she didn't get caught next time.  
  
It took her a moment to realize Coren had spoken. "Sorry, what did you say?"  
  
"Mila, I don't think it's wise for you to be flirting with the Guards like that."  
  
"Aw, it's just some harmless fun," Mila grinned. "Stan and Karl are old friends by now."  
  
He shook his head. "That's what I'm afraid of...."  
  
Mila stopped listening. There was nothing wrong with having friends in a place like the   
  
Guard - in fact, couldn't it come in handy someday? For now, though, she didn't want to   
  
stand around arguing about it when there were other things to worry about. Thoughts of the   
  
Hold had reminded her of something. "So, where'd you dock the Kestral? I met someone   
  
who gave me a lead, and if we can make it to Kinmoku by next week, there's two hundred   
  
gold in it - Hey, what's wrong?"  
  
Coren seemed unwilling to meet her eyes. "I had to sell the Kestral to get the fifty gold."  
  
She stopped short in the middle of the Corridor. "Oh." This was disappointing news, but   
  
the optimist in Mila quickly reasserted itself. "That's okay! We can make it up with a couple   
  
of jobs onplanet, buy it back....."  
  
"Mila, are you crazy? Pull a heist on Mars? The only real money around here is in the   
  
Priesthood, and even you should think twice before taking them on." Coren began walking   
  
again, anxious not to be overheard. "Besides, the guy who bought the Kestral already took   
  
off for Saturn."  
  
"Well, then we'll just have to find another ship. You go scope the registry, I'll grab a few   
  
things from the market." Mila started to walk back the way they'd come, then glanced over   
  
her shoulder. "Meet you up topside at the Dock tonight?"  
  
Coren frowned at his friend's sudden enthusiasm. "Are you sure you want to jack a   
  
ship now? You just got out of the Hold, or did you forget already?"  
  
"Don't worry so much, Coren. It'll be fun!" She grinned at him, her eyes bright.  
  
"That's what I'm afraid of...." His words faded off into the noise of the crowd as she   
  
pushed away from him down the Corridor.  
  
~~  
  
It was late in the morning, and Endymion was still half-asleep. He rolled over, eyes   
  
squeezed shut in denial of consciousness, and reached across the bed to find only soft pillows   
  
there. He groped about blindly before finally sitting up and reluctantly opening his eyes to   
  
squint into the light.   
  
"Lane?" Endy peered about the small cabin. He was, unexpectedly, the sole occupant of   
  
the bed. His dark clothing still lay where it had been carelessly tossed to the floor,   
  
intermingled with paler articles of a more feminine nature. He could hear a sound of running   
  
water coming from the open door to the bathroom. As the water cut off, Endy leaned back in   
  
the bed, only to miss the pillows completely and hit his head on the wall.  
  
"Ow! Dammit, Lane!" He sat up quickly and rubbed at the bruise, hearing her giggle   
  
through the doorway. A moment later, she sauntered into the bedroom, clad only in a fluffy   
  
pink towel, and sat down on the side of the bed.  
  
"What's the matter, honey? Need me to kiss'n'make it better?"   
  
"Hell, no! You sound like my freakin' mother!" He said it irritably, but without any real   
  
heat. Lane was his first fling since he'd left Earth, and he was enjoying the fun enough that he   
  
didn't want to make her really mad.  
  
Besides that, he didn't want to be reminded of his mother.... Queen Lianne was the main   
  
force behind Endy having to leave Earth's court on this blasted diplomacy mission. He'd   
  
never been too concerned with politics, except so far as they'd affected him personally, and   
  
this jaunt around the solar system, trying to reestablish polite negotiations with each planet,   
  
was the worst kind of politics as far as Endy was concerned. He blamed his mother for her   
  
unusual attack of common sense in deciding he needed 'practical training' in the duties of the   
  
throne, and for all the fun he was missing back home.  
  
Lane put a hand on Endy's head and rubbed too hard. He hissed at the renewed pain,   
  
and she pulled back immediately.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She began rubbing his shoulders instead. He wished she'd just leave him   
  
alone - she hadn't known him long enough to realize that sometimes he just got into a foul   
  
mood, and when that happened he wanted solitude to properly enjoy it.  
  
"So what's eating at you, Endy? You've been cranky since last night, ever since we ran   
  
into that military guy at the restaurant."  
  
Hmmm. Maybe she was more observant than he'd first thought? She seemed sensitive   
  
enough to his moods, even if she didn't know the right way to handle them yet. "That 'military   
  
guy, as you put it, is Nephrite. He's one of my generals-slash-bodyguards-slash-jailers, and   
  
he reminded me of responsibilities I'd rather not have anything to do with."  
  
"Oh, so that's why we were hiding behind the bushes?" She seemed overly excited at   
  
having figured this out all by herself.  
  
"Yes, Lane."  
  
"And that's why we came back to the ship without dessert?"  
  
Endy quickly revised his opinion of his lover's intelligence back downward. "Yes, Lane,"   
  
he said deliberately. "That's why we came back to the ship without dessert." She was flaky,   
  
definitely, so how had she managed to own her ship? He figured Daddy must have bought it   
  
for her. It was a nice ship, too.... She'd shown him the control room last night, before they   
  
came back to the bedroom, and he could tell it had speed.  
  
She slid her hands from his shoulders to wrap around his waist and leaned into him.   
  
"You'll have to go home sooner or later, Endy," she mumbled reasonably into his back.  
  
Endy was in no mood for reason. "Call it a game, if you like. Hide and seek. They have   
  
to try and find me, or they lose. So I take off after the meetings and hide."  
  
"They're gonna find you, aren't they? I'd imagine they always do, eventually." One hand   
  
slipped lower.  
  
That was the problem. They always did find him, eventually, and they would haul him   
  
back to the Phoenix like some kind of criminal. Jadeite, in particular, was especially cocky   
  
and rude every time Endy reluctantly returned home with them. Just once, Endy thought it   
  
would be nice to wipe that smirk off his second general's face....  
  
"I've got an idea." He twisted in Lane's embrace to grab her arms. "Let's go. Right now.   
  
I'm sick of being dependable, so let's get out of here and really surprise them."  
  
She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Have you ever been dependable in your life,   
  
Endy?"  
  
"You know what I mean. I've always got to be where they want me, when they want me,   
  
how they want me.... I'll tell you, being prince is like being in jail. I don't have any freedom."  
  
Lane's brow furrowed as she pondered this. "You're here, aren't you? I mean, they don't   
  
have you locked away on the ship or anything."  
  
"That's only because they haven't found me yet. Listen, Lane. I'm tired of being Mr.   
  
Responsible. Let's - let's go on a vacation. We could be off seeing the galaxy!" That would   
  
do quite nicely. Not only would Endy finally get away from all the long meetings, elaborate   
  
dinners, and excruciating politeness he'd had to endure ever since their diplomatic mission   
  
began, but Jadeite would surely get his panties in a bunch searching for him.  
  
"Endy, that's ridiculous! I've got a week's berth paid up here, I've got commitments,   
  
you've got commitments...."  
  
"Screw'em all."  
  
"What about the Moon Princess, and your engagement party on Earth next week? And   
  
what about the generals? Game or not, there could be trouble."  
  
Endy muttered a suggestion under his breath as to what the generals, Princess, and party   
  
could all go do with themselves. It wasn't as if he'd asked for the engagement, after all, and if   
  
everyone thought they could just bully him into it....  
  
"Now that sounds intriguing." Lane waggled her eyebrows at his comment. "Are you sure   
  
you wouldn't rather....?"  
  
He tangled his fingers in her dark hair. "Say we'll go."  
  
"The generals?" she insisted. "I don't want to be arrested for kidnapping." She shrugged   
  
away from him, losing her towel in the process.  
  
"I'll call them. Say we'll go." Endy wasn't about to let his chance for freedom slip away   
  
easily.  
  
"Endy....."  
  
"Say we'll go!" His voice allowed for no argument. His grip on her hair tightened, pulling   
  
on her scalp.  
  
"Call them now, and then we'll go." Lane agreed reluctantly.  
  
Endy leapt from the bed and dashed out the door. "I'll be right back!" he hollered, as he   
  
turned into the control room. He could hear her voice floating down the hall to him, telling him   
  
to hurry. He grinned as he connected to the Crimson Phoenix's communit, and....  
  
"Out of service?" He frowned at the offending display on the screen before him. "What   
  
the hell are they doing over there?" He tapped a few keys, rerouting to the message banks,   
  
and hit record. "This is Endy. I'm taking a vacation, so don't bother me for at least a week.   
  
Oh, and tell Jadeite to stay out of my wine stash - I'm saving it."  
  
There, he thought as he hit the save key. They'll find that sooner or later.... And the later,   
  
the better.   
  
Lane's voice came floating down the hall to him, more impatient now. "Endy? You'd   
  
better hurry or I'll start without you!"  
  
That sounded intriguing.... But he closed out the comm circuits and started back to the   
  
bedroom.  
  
~~  
  
A shrill beeping woke Mamoru from what had been a very pleasant dream. He flung an   
  
arm toward his nightstand, only to realize the noise wasn't coming from his scheduler. He   
  
tried to change trajectories at the last moment and hit the floor with a loud thump, tangled in   
  
his sheets and sporting what felt like a huge bruise on his elbow. He reached up to flip on the   
  
light on his nightstand and was rewarded with a glow that lit the small room.  
  
His roommate groaned, half asleep, and pulled a pillow over her face. Mamoru could   
  
barely make out her words through the cloth. "Geez, Chiba! Can't you give a girl some   
  
warning?"  
  
"Sorry, Keri...." He finally found his belt on the floor and pulled the small communit loose.   
  
"This is Mamoru, go ahead."  
  
"Mamoru? I thought you'd never answer! Listen, there's a bit of an emergency. Those   
  
hotshots in C-2, you know, the Crimson Phoenix from Earth? They managed to bust their   
  
main communit, and I need you to get down there."  
  
The young man squinted at his scheduler. "I worked all last night, Ahmet. Earl's there   
  
now, bug him to do it! I'm off duty, if you hadn't noticed, and I really need some sleep...."  
  
"Earl's busy on level G right now, and besides, I wouldn't trust him with this anyway.   
  
Unless you want a diplomatic incident, like last time?"  
  
Mamoru shuddered at the memory and reluctantly stood up. "You're gonna owe me big   
  
time for this, Ahmet. Be there in a few."   
  
  
  
He closed the circuit and grabbed his clothes from the closet, then threw a glance to where   
  
Keri lay, still hidden beneath her pillow. "Don't peek," he warned.  
  
"I wouldn't dream of it...." She mumbled into the fabric. "When are you coming back?"  
  
"Hopefully it won't take too long. These kind of people call Services for the littlest thing....   
  
And they usually complain about everything you try to fix it with, too." He tightened his belt.   
  
"Why do you ask?"  
  
"Mmmm...." Keri sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. "I've got a date tonight. I was   
  
hoping you'd come along, 'cause one of my friends wants to meet you. I could pull a few   
  
strings at the restauant, get you two a good table...."  
  
"Aw, you know I haven't got time for that. I've got work, I've got class, projects to   
  
finish...." Mamoru looked towards the door, where he thought he'd left his tool kit the night   
  
before, but it wasn't there. It was amazing how easily things always got misplaced in a room   
  
this small, he thought. But then, it was pretty amazing that two people could fit into a room   
  
this size, especially with all their belongings. Keri's side of the room was usually pretty messy,   
  
and he couldn't say much for his own half right now.  
  
She sighed. "I worry about you sometimes, Mamoru. Don't you want to meet girls, have   
  
some fun? I haven't known you too long, but you don't seem like a creep. I mean, it's not   
  
like you're one of those guys just out for a one-night girl, and you aren't bad looking, either.   
  
I'd be interested in you myself, if Daryl and I weren't so serious." She started then, as if   
  
coming to a realization. "Oh! Are you - do you - um...."  
  
He shook his head, a little embarrased at the implication. "No, that's not it. I want to find   
  
the right girl eventually, but that's gonna be pretty far in the future.... If I'm going to be a   
  
healer someday, I've got to make it into the Collegium, and they're pretty selective. Between   
  
work and my studies, there's no free time for anything else." It was all too true. Entry to the   
  
Healer's Collegium was difficult enough on any planet, but on Mars it not only required   
  
passing extensive examinations, but also recommendation by a qualified Priest. Accquiring   
  
that recommendation often meant having friends in high places, a great deal of money, or   
  
both. Mamoru was possessed of neither, and had often considered emigrating to another   
  
planet to make the process easier, but had never been able to afford the move.  
  
"That, unfortunately, makes sense. Too much sense. You're entirely too smart for...." she   
  
glanced at her own scheduler. "Eleven in the morning. Ugh." She flopped back down to rest   
  
on the pillow. "I'm not awake enough to talk right now."  
  
Mamoru grinned perversely, always eager for a chance to tease his roommate. "Eleven?   
  
That's not early. It's a beautiful day, the Corridors are already swept, and I'll bet if you went   
  
up to the surface you could find birds singing." He lifted a pile of papers and discovered the   
  
missing tool kit. "Ha! There you are."  
  
"Birds? Come on, Mr. Sunshine! You were as tired as me a minute ago...." Keri hurled   
  
a pillow into Mamoru's chest and finally grinned back at him. "You'd better get going before   
  
Ahmet calls, wondering where you are."  
  
"Right. See you later. Oh, and have fun tonight." He scooped the pillow off the floor   
  
where it had landed, lobbed it gently back onto her bed, and slipped out into the Corridor just   
  
as his communit started beeping again. Keri shook her head in disbelief and rolled over,   
  
grumbling to herself.  
  
"He didn't even turn the light out...."  
  
~~  
  
Sere leaned over her dressing table and applied another layer of color to her cheeks,   
  
carefully watching herself in the mirror. These nightmares were really starting to get to her -   
  
her face looked drawn and tired, even with makeup on. She shook her head sadly. She   
  
didn't want to face her fiancee like this, but if the pattern of her dreams held during the trip to   
  
Earth, she'd have no choice. She almost hoped he'd take one look at her and send her   
  
straight back home - but too much was riding on this engagement for her to let personal   
  
feelings get in the way.  
  
She had laid down the cosmetics brush and was fastening her earrings when a knock came   
  
at the bedroom door. "Come on in," she said.  
  
Princess Minako pushed the door open and stood on the room's threshold. Her back was   
  
stiff, her senshi uniform immaculate, and her expression perfectly neutral. Sere thought sadly   
  
that this seemed to be typical behavior for her friend lately. "Are you ready, Your   
  
Highness?" Minako asked formally. "The Queen awaits an audience with you before the ship   
  
leaves."  
  
Sere took one last look at herself in the mirror. Her appearance was about as good as it   
  
was likely to get. "I'm ready." She gathered her skirt in one hand to rise, stepped away from   
  
the dressing table, and paused.  
  
"Minako? Do you - I mean -"  
  
"Your Highness?" The look on Minako's face was studiously calm and distanced. She   
  
had always been the most outgoing and carefree of Sere's friends, with a heart much larger   
  
than her willingness to stop and think. Ever since the Venusian princess was named leader of   
  
the Senshi Guard, however, she'd thrown herself into her responsibilities with a frightening   
  
passion. As a result, Minako had become reserved and cool around her friends, as if she felt   
  
friendship had to be sacrificed to duty. Sere had been meaning to sit her down and talk about   
  
it for a while now, but had always had to put it off in favor of more immediate matters. Now   
  
she would be leaving for Earth, with all the business and confusion of planning her wedding,   
  
and their talk would have to wait even longer. Sere sighed to herself. Just when she was   
  
facing a life on a whole new planet, surrounded by people she didn't know and couldn't trust,   
  
she needed all her friends more than ever before. Minako seemed determined to push   
  
everyone away.  
  
For now, though, there was nothing for Sere to do but follow her friend to Queen   
  
Serenity's audience chamber and prepare to say her goodbyes. She walked through quiet   
  
white marble corridors with high ceilings and huge arching windows, the trademark   
  
architecture of the Moon Kingdom, and caught herself wondering whether Earth had anything   
  
similar. I can't think about that, she told herself. If I don't expect anything, I can't be   
  
disappointed.  
  
As she reached the audience hall, Sere slowed in her tracks. Her heart rebelled - I don't   
  
want to say goodbye! I don't want to leave! - but her mind reasserted control. Aside from   
  
the importance of the engagement itself, she had an itinerary of stops to several other planets   
  
before finally arriving on Earth. She couldn't just call those off without offending the   
  
dignitaries with whom she was scheduled to meet.  
  
Her mother rose gracefully from her throne and glided forward, meeting Sere in the center   
  
of the room and embracing her closely. Then the queen held her daughter out to take a good   
  
long look at her. She nodded, evidently pleased with what she saw.  
  
"Are you ready?" Queen Serenity asked.  
  
Sere nodded. "I think so. I'm all packed, everything's finished."  
  
"Is something wrong, Sere?" The Queen fixed her daughter with the look that had sent   
  
chills down Sere's spine when she was younger. It still never failed to intimidate her. "You   
  
can tell me." The look echoed: 'You'd better tell me.'  
  
Unable to withstand her, Sere glanced at the floor. Was it a power of all mothers to inflict   
  
this mandatory obedience on their children, or only of those born to rule? Think fast, she told   
  
herself. This alliance is too important for your fears to destroy.   
  
"I'm okay," she finally said. "It's just - I haven't seen Endy - Prince Endymion, I mean,   
  
since we were little. I'm kind of nervous." There, that ought to hold her mother.  
  
Queen Serenity nodded. "That's understandable. I wish it could have been otherwise,   
  
Sere, but you know relations with Earth haven't been all that close in the last few years. Their   
  
withdrawal -"  
  
"I know, I know." Sere imitated her instructor's voice. "The Earth has absented itself   
  
from nearly all system interactions since the death of King Baldur. I do pay attention in   
  
studies once in a while, Mother...." She immediately regretted the sharp tone that had crept   
  
into her voice, and deliberately softened it. "I do understand why things happened as they   
  
did. I just wish it could have gone differently. If I'd gotten to know him better before   
  
now...." Maybe I wouldn't be having these nightmares, she finished the thought silently.  
  
"Oh, Sere.... I'm sure you'll be fine. I know it's a big change for you, but you're a very   
  
strong, beautiful, courageous young woman that anyone would be proud to have for a   
  
daughter. I'll miss you...." Tears appeared in Serenity's eyes - not a queen, just for a   
  
moment, but a mother. She hugged Sere close.  
  
"I'll miss you too, Mama. It's not like we're never seeing each other again." Sere tried to   
  
convince herself as much as her mother. "You'll come to the wedding, right?" She knew the   
  
answer, but needed to hear it again.  
  
"You know I am, Sere. I would never miss it." Serenity wiped her eyes. "I'd come with   
  
you now, but the Council would never manage without me. That group couldn't find their   
  
own shoes without a map and a resolution in triplicate...."  
  
Sere giggled at the rare candor from the always-politic Moon Queen. "Maybe I'm better   
  
off away, then.... I wouldn't want to deal with them anymore than I've had to!"  
  
"Selene go with you, and protect you, my daughter." The traditional farewell took on new   
  
meaning from the inflections in Queen Serenity's voice. For a moment, Sere almost thought   
  
she could see the Moon Goddess superimposed on her human avatar.  
  
"Goodbye, Mama. I love you...."  
  
Sere quickly turned to leave, not looking back as she strode out of the audience hall.  
  
~~  
  
Endymion lay sprawled across the bed, bored out of his mind. Lane had left thirty minutes   
  
ago, mentioning something about Dock bureaucrats and paperwork. Those were two   
  
phrases that normally caused him to automatically turn off his higher brain functions, so he   
  
hadn't paid enough attention to figure out exactly what was going on, but she'd promised to be   
  
back within the hour. Meanwhile, he was left with absolutely nothing to do.  
  
Endy swung his legs over the side of the bed, grunting, and pulled himself up. He leaned   
  
down and grabbed his pants off the floor where they'd been discarded not too long ago. He   
  
stood up to pull them on, fastened his belt, and stepped toward the bathroom, tangling his feet   
  
in the forgotten bath towel Lane had left on the floor and managing to crack his head on the   
  
bedside table.  
  
When he finally came to, he wasn't sure how long he'd been unconscious. He lay still,   
  
extremely reluctant to move at all. The pain spread through his nervous system, making his   
  
spine tingle and feeling like nothing so much as a line of elephants turned can-can dancers   
  
pounding through his head. He groaned, nearly missing the voices through his own agony.   
  
One male, one female, both sounding very agitated.  
  
"What was that noise? I think someone's here."  
  
"You said Lane flies alone, no crew."  
  
"She does!"  
  
"So there can't be anyone here. Come on, we aren't even past the gravity well."  
  
"You can handle it, can't you? I know I heard something in the back."  
  
"I didn't hear anything, but you can check it out if you want."  
  
Endy could hear footsteps tapping down the hall toward the bedroom. It occurred to him   
  
that this might be a very good time to get to his feet - unfortunately, his nervous system   
  
seemed to be malfunctioning and his feet weren't getting the message. He was still flat on his   
  
back when a large, red-headed man appeared in the doorway.  
  
The man seemed as startled to see Endy as Endy was to see him. "Hey, Mila?" He called   
  
over his shoulder. "You might want to come back here!"  
  
~~  
  
"No can do, Coren! I'm a little busy right now!" Mila hollered over her shoulder, then   
  
focused all her attention on the vidscreen where two Guard ships had appeared out of   
  
nowhere. One of them was hailing her.  
  
"Jade Matrix, Captain Lane Zhaki, this is Guard serial 549-C4. You are not cleared to   
  
leave the planet at this time. Please acknowledge."  
  
"What now?" Mila depressed the speak button and leaned forward. "Guard, this is the   
  
Jade Matrix. I'm sure there's some mistake here...."  
  
"Jade Matrix, please confirm your Dock protocol number and ship registration."  
  
Mila released the speak button. "Coren! I need those stats you hacked!" The last thing,   
  
the very last thing she needed was to be apprehended by the Guard again. She didn't think   
  
she could handle another week in the Hold.  
  
"Give me a second!"   
  
"I don't have a second, Coren!" She warned.  
  
"Jade Matrix, please acknowledge. Are you receiving me?" came the voice once again.  
  
"ARRGH!" Mila screamed - retaining enough presence of mind to release the speak   
  
button first. "I can't deal with all of this!"  
  
Coren appeared in the cockpit a moment later. "We've got a little problem in the back...."  
  
"Not now, Coren. The stats, please!"  
  
"Okay, okay. Watch out." He pushed her gently out of the way so he could reach the   
  
console.  
  
"There! Finally!" Mila leaned on the speak button once more as Coren punched the final   
  
code sequence in. "Transmitting now."  
  
"Jade Matrix, we are receiving the data. Please wait for Ground confirmation."  
  
Coren stood anxiously, watching Mila manipulate the control panel. "What are you   
  
doing?"  
  
"Just making sure the engines are hot," she answered as she worked. "If they decide to   
  
chase us, I want a head start."  
  
The console's speakers squawked with the notification of incoming text. Mila scrolled   
  
through it quickly, then read it again in astonishment. "Guard, is this information correct?"  
  
"Roger, Jade Matrix. I apologize for the confusion, and you are clear for departure."  
  
Mila shook her head, but didn't argue. "Right, Jade Matrix out." Had they benefited from   
  
a fluke in the system, or was something else going on?  
  
She swiveled her chair to face Coren. "It says clearance was just approved. I didn't   
  
request clearance, did I? What do you make of that?"  
  
"I say let's get while the getting's good.... And as soon as you've got the course charted,   
  
come to the back. We've got a stowaway." 


	3. In which Jadeite gets an idea

Thanks for this chapter go to Syrinx, my awesome beta-reader; to my sister for her putting   
  
up with all my re-writes, and to Dragon Knight Slade for his helpful comments. On with the   
  
show!  
  
~Lurker 9/15/03  
  
**  
  
Jadeite leaned back in his swivel chair and tossed a bit of popcorn up, catching it in his   
  
mouth as it fell. He slugged a drink from his glass, set it back on the console, and refocused   
  
his attention on the vidscreen. The two figures portrayed there had been locked in an   
  
embrace for the last few minutes, muttering protests of undying love and eternal fidelity -   
  
which would have been less annoying if he hadn't seen it already.  
  
The popcorn was freshly popped, with extra salt on it, and was fast becoming his favorite   
  
snack. It was too bad they hadn't found a supplier for this stuff yet, Jadeite mused. He'd   
  
have to make sure they laid in a good amount to ship's stores before takeoff. Maybe they   
  
could make it part of the treaty negotiations - a twenty year contract for popcorn imports.   
  
No, better make it forty.  
  
"Oh, John!"  
  
"Oh, Marsha!"  
  
"Oh, John!"  
  
"Oh, Marsha!"  
  
"Oh brother," came a voice from behind. Jadeite spun his chair to face Nephrite, who was   
  
leaning casually against the doorjamb. "You're back early, Neph. How'd the negotiations   
  
go?"  
  
Nephrite strode the few steps into the control room to steal some popcorn. "Better if a   
  
certain Prince of Earth had bothered to show up.... But well enough, I suppose. The Priests   
  
know not to count on Endy by this point, anyway, so they weren't too disappointed." He   
  
noticed the action on the vidscreen. "Didn't you see this one yesterday?"  
  
"Yeah, it's a recording." Jadeite scooped up another handful of his snack, determined to   
  
out-eat his fellow general if necessary. "The communit's broken, so there aren't any   
  
broadcasts coming in. Services said they'd send someone."  
  
"And you've nothing better to do than watch old vids and wait? I'd think with liftoff   
  
scheduled for noon tomorrow, you'd be busy resupplying and running diagnostics." His voice   
  
held a warning note, which Jadeite promptly decided to ignore.  
  
"I'll get to it all when this is over. Zoisite'll be back from his meetings soon, and he can   
  
help me."  
  
Nephrite shook his head and turned to leave, obviously not pleased with Jadeite's   
  
intentions, but unwilling to begin a confrontation. Jadeite smirked to himself. It was too easy   
  
to get under his friend's skin.  
  
Nephrite paused at the door. "Oh, by the way. Have you heard from Endy yet?"  
  
"I told you, the communit's broken."  
  
"On your personal communit?"   
  
"Not so much as a beep." Which irritated Jadeite. He considered himself one of Endy's   
  
best friends, and a more... understanding person than Kunzite, who would often lecture Endy   
  
about responsibility and duty. Why wouldn't the prince tell him if he was going to be gone?  
  
"Tell me if you hear anything from our absent prince. I'm going to catch Zoisite, and   
  
maybe together we can hunt Endymion down. He should be here, anyway, to sign the   
  
treaty.... You'll have to finish liftoff prep by yourself." Nephrite's face held a smirk of its own.  
  
Not willing to give satisfaction, Jadeite simply nodded and settled back in his chair. "I'll   
  
stay here and let in the repairman when he arrives."  
  
"Don't strain yourself."  
  
"Whatever."   
  
Jadeite quickly became absorbed once again in the storyline of the vid. He lost track of   
  
time until a chime sounded, signifying that someone outside was requesting access. He   
  
sighed, paused the screen, and punched up the outside monitors. The man at the hatch was   
  
wearing the cap and uniform of Service employees and holding what appeared to be a   
  
toolbox, but his face was obscured by the hat's brim. Jadeite unlocked the hatch and went   
  
down to greet him.  
  
"Hi there, I'm with Dock Service. I hear you've got a faulty communit?"  
  
"That's right, it's been acting up...." Jadeite's words trailed off. That voice.... "Ha, ha.   
  
Very funny, Endy. Would you quit fooling around and get in here? We've got liftoff prep   
  
soon."  
  
"Sorry?" The man tilted his cap up, revealing just the face Jadeite had expected. "My   
  
name's Mamoru Chiba, I'm with Dock Services. Ahmet sent me."  
  
"Right. Okay, Mamoru. Let's see you fix the communit, if you're really the repairman."   
  
Jadeite grinned. He'd play along. There was no way Endy had the technical background to   
  
repair a broken stick, much less a complex piece of electronics like a communit. This was a   
  
pretty dumb joke, even for the prince. But then, how did he know Ahmet was the one   
  
Jadeite had spoken to at Dock Services?  
  
"That's why I'm here," Mamoru said carefully.  
  
**  
  
"I do NOT appreciate being called a stowaway," Endy said angrily. "Especially   
  
considering I'm the one with permission to be here, and you're the hijacker. And when are   
  
you going to untie me?"  
  
"When I'm convinced you aren't going to try anything stupid." Coren folded his arms,   
  
producing his best 'stern glare' for the occasion. "And trust me, it would be stupid. Why   
  
don't you calm down a little and we'll talk."  
  
"Calm down?" Endy wriggled in the rope that held his arms pinned to the chair. "How do   
  
you expect me to calm down? Listen, buddy, do you know who I am?"  
  
"No, not really, but I'm sure you're going to tell me," Coren answered. "If I say I don't   
  
care, will you shut up for a while?"  
  
"Wh - I - You -"  
  
Coren grinned and looked away, leaving Endy to sputter.  
  
That son of a - How dare he? Endy thought. If he hadn't kidnapped me, Lane and I   
  
could be -   
  
That thought brought him up short. Lane and I would be doing what? Flying around the   
  
system on vacation, right? And what is this guy doing, but flying me around the system?   
  
Sure, I won't have the same... benefits as I do with Lane, but there are girls just as good on   
  
all the planets.   
  
As ideas began to percolate in Endy's brain, Mila wandered in and leaned against the wall.   
  
"Well, I've got everything on autopilot, and things look pretty clear all the way to Kinmoku.   
  
We'll have to stop off at Station 12 and get the registry taken care of before that Lane chick   
  
puts out the alert, but I think we're in good shape."  
  
As she continued talking, Endy stared at Mila, letting his eyes roam up and down. Blond   
  
hair, brown eyes, cute body.... No, this sudden change of plans might not be so bad at all.  
  
"I'll tell you what," he said suddenly, interrupting Mila mid-sentence. "You guys untie me,   
  
and I won't make a fuss. In fact, I'll help you out."  
  
"Why should we trust you?" Coren asked. " A minute ago you were yelling at us."  
  
"Because now I've had a chance to think things over, and I've decided I don't particularly   
  
care who I go with, as long as I'm well away from Earth. Lane and I were planning to take   
  
off soon, anyway, so it's not like it bothers me, just as long as I get what I want...."  
  
"Okay.... And what exactly do you want?" Mila asked reasonably.  
  
"I want away from Earth, like I said." Endy leaned back in his chair - at least as far as the   
  
ropes would let him - and tried to look his most harmless. "I'm the.... Let's just say, I've got   
  
a position of responsibility there, and I'm tired of being responsible. So, I wanted a vacation.   
  
This'll work as well as anything."  
  
"This isn't a cruiser, you know," Mila said. "We've got work to do."  
  
"Whatever. If I promise not to get in the way, would you guys just untie me?"  
  
"Hang on." Coren drew Mila into the hallway for a more private conference. Endy could   
  
still hear their lowered voices, if he concentrated. "I don't like it, and I don't trust him. He's   
  
the spoiled sort that bails at the first hint of anything they don't like, and who knows what kind   
  
of trouble he could cause us!"  
  
Mila's higher voice answered. "I don't really see what it'll hurt.... Anyway, it's only a few   
  
days' journey to the Station. We can always leave him there after we get the modifications   
  
finished, if it really bothers you."  
  
"Fine, if you say so...." Coren reappeared in the doorway, followed closely by Mila, and   
  
addressed Endy sternly. "Just remember, if you don't behave yourself, it's out the hatch with   
  
you - and I'm not promising we'll be docked, either." He ignored Mila's reprimanding look.   
  
"I'll be watching you."  
  
He reached over and loosened the ropes. Endy shook them off and forced down his burst   
  
of anger at the man's authoritative manner, smiling in what he hoped was a completely   
  
convincing and non-threatening way. It seemed he would only have a few days to convince   
  
these two to take him with them. "So... my name's Endy. What's yours?"  
  
**  
  
Red emergency lights flashed along the Corridor walls as Lane worked her way toward   
  
the Guard office. A stern female voice coming through strategically placed speakers repeated   
  
a command for all members of Guard Division 394 to report to their ships. Uniformed men   
  
were racing through the Corridors, pushing aside anyone who got in their way. Most people   
  
found ways to be indoors or out of the way, to avoid being bowled over by the stampede.  
  
"Excuse me." Lane tried to snag the sleeve of a passing Guard, only to be brushed off.   
  
"Excuse me!"  
  
An older man in uniform stopped for a moment. "Listen, ma'am, unless you've got a dead   
  
body or an emergency missive from Serenity herself, you'll have to wait." He started to move   
  
off.  
  
"Wait, you don't understand! My ship's been stolen!" Her voice was desperate.  
  
"No, you don't understand. No one's going to care about your ship right now. If you're   
  
worried about it, there's an emergency station set up in the Temple courtyard. You can go   
  
down there and report it." Without another word, he joined the stream of Guards moving   
  
swiftly toward the military Dock.  
  
Lane stared after him, in near shock at the brush-off. How dare he? She stood for   
  
several seconds until another pedestrian slammed into her from behind. "Oops, pardon me,   
  
ma'am." The young Priest touched his forehead in a brief salute before disappearing into a   
  
nearby doorway.  
  
She supposed there was no help for it. She'd have to find this emergency station and   
  
report her loss. The quad was a few blocks to the left, if she remembered correctly - it'd   
  
been a few years since her last stay on Mars, and the Corridor layouts were running together   
  
in her head. Stupid Martians - why'd they have to build everything underground like this?   
  
And why in the world did it all have to look so similar?  
  
Lane finally found the right spot; a large round area ringed by tall columns and arches   
  
reaching up to brush the granite rock overhead. The Temple courtyard was normally a place   
  
for quiet meditation, but apparently it had been turned over to the Guards as a temporary   
  
headquarters while... whatever was going on, went on. Two young, flustered cadets ran back   
  
and forth behind a bench that had been set up as a desk, trying to accommodate the crush of   
  
people before them.  
  
She reluctantly joined the end of the growing line and settled in for a long wait. The   
  
woman in front of her was discussing some lost pet with her companion - why couldn't they   
  
wait, and let her go first? It wasn't as if "Poochie-coo" couldn't find his way home eventually.   
  
Desperate to get the woman's sugary tones out of her mind, Lane turned to the boy behind   
  
her to strike up a conversation.  
  
"So, any ideas what all this is about?"  
  
The boy was small and wispy, with a thin voice to match. "My fiancee is in the Guard, and   
  
they called her out a little while ago. She said before she left that the Giardo Pirates attacked   
  
a mining outpost on Charon, and they're recalling every spare unit from here to system edge   
  
for reinforcements. She said there's hundreds wounded." The boy shuddered, his face   
  
fearful. "You don't think they'll come this far insystem, do you?"  
  
Lane shook her head, already dismissing the boy in her mind.   
  
"My name's Jose. My fiancee is Lucy Johannes - she's a cadet, but she's going to be   
  
promoted soon. What's your name?"  
  
"Lane," she answered shortly. "Lane Zhaki." She flipped her hair away from her face and   
  
frowned. "Any idea how long this'll take?"  
  
"Nice to meet you, Lane. I don't know how long the wait is, but I don't think it'll be too   
  
bad," Jose offered. "I'm just waiting to ask whether Lucy's unit is being deployed to Charon,   
  
for cleanup crew, or if they're sending her after the pirates. I'm a little worried about her. Do   
  
you have a fiance?"  
  
"No, I don't." Lane folded her arms, looking everywhere but at her new conversation   
  
partner. "I - wait. Oh, no. Endy!"  
  
Jose's eyebrows slanted towards each other. He tilted his head to one side. "You forgot   
  
your fiance?"  
  
"No, I didn't. He's -" She quickly edited what she had been going to say. "sort of a   
  
boyfriend. He was on my ship before it got hijacked." Although there was no reason to   
  
worry about him, she amended to herself. He probably got off before anything happened....  
  
"Oh. I hope you find him again. I'd hate to lose Lucy like that.... You should keep an eye   
  
on him." Satisfied with his advice, Jose leaned back and smiled.  
  
Frustrated with the whole mess, Lane turned back to face the front of the line. It had   
  
barely moved. "Come on, hurry up! I want my ship back!"  
  
**  
  
Ami slipped a bit of scrap paper between the pages of her book and laid it on her bedside   
  
table. "What is it, Makoto?"   
  
The figure behind her detached itself from the wall and came up to take a seat on the bed   
  
beside Ami. "You knew it was me, huh?" the senshi from Jupiter laughed quietly.  
  
"I didn't think it was likely to be anyone else," Ami said. "Rei's busy setting up her   
  
quarters, since she didn't come with us on the Serene Angel last trip, and the Princess is   
  
taking a nap...."  
  
"And Minako is still training in the gym," Makoto finished for her friend. "I'm still stunned   
  
at how huge this ship is." It was true. The Serene Angel, being the flagship of the Moon   
  
Kingdom's small fleet and the personal transport of Queen Serenity, had space and resources   
  
enough to support an entire entourage for limited periods of time. Makoto's first voyage on   
  
the ship, two years ago, had been mostly occupied with wandering around in amazement at all   
  
the different facilities.  
  
"So, did you need anything in particular?" Ami asked, hoping she hadn't.  
  
"Nope." Makoto settled back against the pile of pillows. "I was just looking for someone   
  
to talk to.... Everyone else is kind of busy."  
  
That was just the opening Ami had been looking for. "Hey, Makoto, have you noticed   
  
anything weird about the others?"  
  
"Weird? What kind of wierd?" Makoto grinned. "I don't think we've ever been quite   
  
normal, Ami."  
  
"You've been working with the army directly on those training missions for a few months,   
  
so maybe you haven't had a chance to notice..." the quiet senshi of Mercury began, "but things   
  
have been strange lately. Ever since the engagement was announced, Serenity's been getting   
  
more and more withdrawn. She's been losing sleep, and she's not the same happy girl she   
  
used to be."  
  
Makoto nodded slowly. "You're right, I hadn't noticed."  
  
"That's not all. It's been driving Rei nuts that Sere won't speak to her. You know how   
  
close they've always been...." Ami waited for Makoto to nod again. "Well, Rei's been   
  
spending more and more time alone in her room. I think Sere's behavior is really affecting   
  
her, as well."  
  
"I see. What did Minako think about it? Have you mentioned any of this to her?"  
  
"I did try, a couple of weeks ago, but Minako's changed too. I think she's worried about   
  
the new responsibilities the Queen gave her, or maybe it's something else entirely, that she's   
  
not telling anyone - I've got no way of knowing what's going on in her mind! She's pushing   
  
herself so hard, in training the new recruits, or in the gym by herself.... Even when she's   
  
asleep, she doesn't relax. I'm worried for her, Makoto. I'm worried about what will happen   
  
to all of us, if we don't stick together and help each other."  
  
Makoto absently tugged a hank of brown hair loose from her ponytail and began chewing   
  
on it. Her eyes became distant in thought. "What should we do?"  
  
Ami was relieved to see that Makoto was taking this seriously. She'd debated for a while   
  
before deciding to bring it up, fearing it was all just her own imagination, but the tensions had   
  
gotten too much for her to handle alone. "I don't know," she said. "I just don't know."  
  
"Do you think it's my fault?" Makoto said suddenly, sitting bolt upright. "Because I've   
  
been gone?"  
  
"No!" Ami exclaimed. "It's not your fault. And don't start thinking it is, or you'll pull away   
  
too, and then we'll all be worse off."  
  
"Right." Makoto relaxed a little at the reassurance. She took her friend's hand and   
  
squeezed it, hoping to give a little of that reassurance back. "Don't worry, Ami. We'll figure   
  
out what's going on."  
  
**  
  
Jadeite grinned to himself. The 'repairman' had been out in the ship's main hall for a half-  
  
hour now, pretending to work on the communit's wiring through an access panel. Jadeite had   
  
been listening to muttered curses the whole while and thought he had even heard a thrown   
  
tool clatter against the wall once or twice. He was confident that any minute now, Endy   
  
would call the joke off.  
  
Mamoru came into the control room, wiping his hands on a rag, which he then stuffed   
  
carelessly into his back pocket. "I'll tell you, your wiring's in pretty bad shape back there!"  
  
Heh, Jadeite thought. This was one joke Endy was really getting into. "So, that means   
  
you can't fix it?" he asked, hoping to trip his prince up.  
  
  
  
"Oh, no, everything should be working now. Try to run up the communication lines."  
  
"Right, sure, whatever you say...." Jadeite casually hit a few buttons, expecting to see the   
  
same error message he'd gotten that morning.  
  
The screen flashed white and displayed a series of diagnostics as the unit ran a systems   
  
check. After what seemed an unreasonably long wait, at least to Jadeite, an "All Systems   
  
Normal" message appeared.  
  
Mamoru grinned at proof positive that the system was working again. "You're going to   
  
want to get the rest of that wiring looked at when you get back to your home port, but this'll   
  
last you for a while. Let's see now...." He tapped at the display, entering a few commands to   
  
double-check that all access was restored.  
  
"Looks like you've got a stored message in here. Well, everything seems to be running   
  
just fine!" He went back into the hall to put away his tools.  
  
Jadeite stood with his mouth gaping. Finally, he reached out and started playback of the   
  
recorded message, and watched in amazement as Endy's face appeared.  
  
"This is Endy. I'm taking a vacation, so don't bother me for at least a week. Oh, and tell   
  
Jadeite to stay out of my wine stash - I'm saving it."  
  
"Why, that no good - that rotten - I don't believe it!" Jadeite exclaimed. "Who told him   
  
he could take a vacation?" For the two months of the trip, he had dealt with Endymion's   
  
antics. He had covered up Endy's chasing after women, straightened out the minor scuffles   
  
with local law, and at times had prevented Nephrite from inflicting serious harm on their prince   
  
with a warning about Kunzite's inevitable retaliation should Endy come home badly injured.   
  
Now, he was being repaid for his hard work with betrayal and distrust? "And why didn't he   
  
ever tell me he had wine stockpiled away somewhere?"  
  
A sound from over his shoulder caused Jadeite to spin around. Mamoru was standing   
  
there, his eyes wide. He looked about as nonplussed as Jadeite felt. "That's - me?"  
  
"Obviously not. That is Prince Endymion of Earth, which makes you.... Hey. Who are   
  
you, anyway?"  
  
"I told you," Mamoru said slowly, wondering if this Jadeite fellow had all his faculties   
  
together. "My name's Chiba Mamoru, I'm with Dock Services, and I just repaired your   
  
communit. If you'll excuse me, I've got to get back and check in with Ahmet." He edged   
  
back out of the control room, into the hallway, and reached for his toolbox slowly, so as not   
  
to make any sudden moves that would startle his client.  
  
The beginnings of a plan were beginning to make themselves known in Jadeite's mind.   
  
"Hang on just a second, would you?" So Endy thought he could just push everyone around,   
  
did he? That boy knew full well that alliance with the Silver Millennium depended on his   
  
marriage to the Princess Serenity. He had no business pulling a disappearing trick so close to   
  
the wedding....  
  
Jadeite looked closely at the repairman. "Guess what, Mamoru. You've just won the   
  
'Prince for a Week' contest. Congratulations."  
  
Mamoru's eyes just widened. 


	4. In which Zoisite brings news

All right! We're on chapter three!   
  
Acknowledgments: Thanks to Mikazuki for her great plot idea, to Syrinx for being an   
  
incredible beta reader, to my sister for helping me even though she doesn't watch Sailor   
  
Moon, and to Dragon Knight Slade for hashing out characters with me on late night chats, and  
  
for pushing my writing that extra bit further. And, as always, to Naoko Takeuchi-sama, for   
  
letting us play in her world!  
  
With that, on to the show!  
  
~Lurker 11/20/03  
  
----------  
  
Chapter Three: In which Zoisite brings news  
  
Sere blinked her eyes, trying to dispel the inky blackness that filled her vision. She   
  
took a tentative step forward, then another, carefully feeling her way in the dark. She   
  
walked on that way for what felt like hours, and yet like scant moments at the same   
  
time, before her foot ran into something.  
  
She stretched her hands out before her to feel a wall. Rough, wooden, with splinters   
  
that threatened her fingertips and a pair of cold metal hinges set on the door.... The   
  
garden shed.  
  
Sere wrapped her arms around herself and sank silently to the floor. She was in the   
  
shed again, alone and abandoned. The knowledge that she was dreaming did nothing   
  
to alleviate her fear. Soon the storm would start, with lightning that would flash   
  
through the single dirty window, outlining every shadow in stark relief before vanishing   
  
to leave her in darkness all the more frightening for the brief moment of light. The   
  
storm, with rain that would begin softly as a quiet patter against the sides of the shed,   
  
but grow until it slammed into the tin roof with a pounding, throbbing rhythm that   
  
would beat its way into her skull; with a sound that would catch and echo, multiplying   
  
itself in the tiny interior until it filled her mind and drowned her thought. The storm,   
  
with the thunder, rolling and booming its way past the walls sturdy enough to keep her   
  
trapped, but too flimsy to keep the noise out; the thunder that would attack her   
  
eardrums with sharp deafening cracks. And then....  
  
With a cry, she leapt to her feet, pounding on the door until her hands were numb,   
  
screaming wordlessly until her throat grew raw and her voice gave out.  
  
Silently, Sere fell against the door, unable to fight the course of her dream any   
  
longer. Tears fell from her closed eyes as the first soft raindrops began to land against   
  
the shed roof.  
  
**  
  
"Molly Guiardo here." The woman swiveled her chair around to face the communit,   
  
bringing her face into view. Her hair was covered with a bright kerchief, and large hoop   
  
earrings dangled from her ears - all in all, a perfect image of the quintessential pirate, Beryl   
  
thought with an inward smirk.  
  
"My name is Beryl. I believe your gentleman informed you about me." It was a statement,   
  
not a question.  
  
Molly glanced to her right, where her second in command stood. His silent nod confirmed   
  
Beryl's identity for the pirate captain. Beryl had never been able to remember the man's   
  
name, but then it wasn't that important. All she had cared for was his ability to put her in   
  
communication with Molly Guiardo, leader of the Black Nebula Pirates who had been   
  
conducting hit-and-run attacks on the outer planets of the Sol system for months - and after   
  
several weeks of round-about negotiations, Beryl had finally attained her first goal. Now all   
  
she needed was to persuade the good captain that alliance could be more rewarding than...   
  
animosity.  
  
"Did." Molly's eyes narrowed. "Also said you didn't tell him much of what you wanted.   
  
You got me curious, though. If you'd hadn't said something to him about a project that's   
  
supposed to be secret, you wouldn't have gotten this far. So, tell. What do you know, and   
  
how do you know it?"  
  
Beryl smiled quickly - too quickly, she realized, and moderated her expression to what she   
  
hoped was one of friendly, yet businesslike camaraderie. "That was merely to get your   
  
attention, Lady Guiardo. I assure you, your activities on Pluto are no concern of mine –   
  
except, of course, insofar as I may be able to be of some assistance to your endeavors. If I   
  
may say so, Lady, I believe we might be able to join forces for our mutual benefit."  
  
Molly leaned back in her chair, her face unreadable. "I'll tell you, Beryl. I've never much   
  
liked people who're too friendly. Always makes me think they're tryin' to sell me something.   
  
Now, you wanta be up front and explain exactly what you want, or do I cut transmission   
  
now?"  
  
Beryl cursed under her breath and reminded herself, once again, not to judge by   
  
appearances so hastily. This pirate captain looked and sounded the part of an ignorant   
  
peasant, but she was obviously more intelligent than Beryl had given her credit for - and might   
  
not be willing to go along with any snowjobs. "But of course. Quite simply put, I am   
  
currently in a position on Earth that affords me certain opportunities.... What I propose is a   
  
merger of forces, as it were. If we combine our strength and coordinate tactics, we could   
  
strike a fierce blow against the Moon Kingdom."  
  
"Interesting, except for one thing." The pirate captain casually crossed her legs and   
  
looked, if anything, even more relaxed than before. "I'm not interested in defeating the Moon   
  
Kingdom or in any of your solar politics. You're gonna be on your own, sister, but good   
  
luck!"  
  
"Wait -" Beryl began desperately. All her current plans depended on this alliance.  
  
"Sorry. Oh, and don't try this connection again. You'll just get the Guard offices on   
  
Jupiter. Bye!" With that, Molly gestured to her second and the screen went blank.  
  
Beryl spun her chair around and slammed her fist onto her knee, ignoring the spike of pain.   
  
Damn! This ruined her plan. Now she'd have to find another bandit with enough resources to   
  
suit, and once again begin the long process of working her way up the ranks to contact him....  
  
"Milady Beryl?" The nervous chamberlain stood hesitantly outside her office door, looking   
  
like nothing so much as a mouse trying to face down a lion. It had taken Beryl some time to   
  
train him, but she thought he'd learned not to bother her when she was in her office.   
  
"Beg pardon, Milady, but Her Majesty wishes to see you immediately," the man stuttered.   
  
"She's waiting in her audience room."  
  
Beryl sighed. The audience room, a small branch-off from the more formal throne room,   
  
was Queen Lianne's favorite place for more taxing conversations. Luckily, the queen was   
  
usually too scatterbrained to pay attention to such encounters for very long, losing interest or   
  
becoming distracted along the way. With the way Beryl's day had been going, however, this   
  
was likely to be one of those rare times when Lianne latched onto a new idea, like one of her   
  
pet terriers to a rat, and refused to let go.  
  
With the recent demise of her careful plans still a fresh wound to her ego, Beryl wasn't in   
  
the mood to deal with the queen's whining. She hoped this wouldn't waste too much of her   
  
day.... She gathered her skirt in her hand as she rose and nodded to the chamberlain. "Well,   
  
then."  
  
By the time she arrived at the throne room, Beryl had schooled her features into a polite   
  
and gracious smile. She made her way through the crowd, nodding to each of the courtiers   
  
who constantly hung about, hoping for some of the Earth Queen's prestige to rub off. For   
  
them, even a brief smile from the queen's second in command was as good as an encounter   
  
with Lianne herself.  
  
Beryl easily side-stepped an especially annoying specimen in the crowd; a large and   
  
heavily powdered gentleman who she recognized as having approached her several times in   
  
the past.... Something about an insult to his pet, if she remembered correctly. It wasn't   
  
anything she'd felt like dealing with, then or now.  
  
She soon found herself at the door leading into the audience room. After a guard stationed   
  
there opened it for her, Beryl quickly made the formal gesture of respect for the royal family's   
  
spirit guardians - it wouldn't do to be seen as impious, of course, and lately the old religions   
  
had become fashionable again - and stepped through the door and into Queen Lianne's   
  
presence.  
  
The tall ruler of Earth looked nothing like her usual graceful, polished self. Her blond hair   
  
was falling loose from its carefully crafted chignon, light strands drifting out from her head as if   
  
statically charged. Her dress was faintly wrinkled, something that Lianne would normally   
  
never allow, and the sight made Beryl more than a little nervous. This was not the same queen   
  
she was used to dealing with, and Beryl wondered whether she'd be able to control her as   
  
easily as usual.  
  
As Beryl made a deep curtsey, Queen Lianne hurried to her side. "Beryl! I'm so glad   
  
you've arrived. Have you heard the news?"  
  
"News, Majesty?" she said carefully, not willing to commit until she knew just what was   
  
going on.   
  
"News, yes, Beryl! News from Pluto! Haven't you heard? The Guiardo Pirates have   
  
attacked Charon. Quickly, now, we've got to send reinforcements!" The queen spun on her   
  
heel and ran back to the table where she'd already assembled some of her top staffers,   
  
including Kunzite, her head general, and Carlie, the unofficial authority on all things   
  
economical.   
  
Beryl sighed. If she couldn't head things off, this promised to be a very long meeting.  
  
**  
  
Zoisite punched his access code into the keypad and waited impatiently during the few   
  
seconds it took for the door hatch to open. He hated being this late in getting back to the   
  
Phoenix, but all the turmoil in the Corridors had delayed him. He wondered what Jadeite   
  
and Nephrite would make of the pirate attacks on the outer system - then remembered that   
  
the communit was broken. Maybe this time he could be the one to bring news!  
  
Zoisite had always been the youngest of Endymion's four bodyguards, and he didn't expect   
  
that to change any time soon. What he did wish was that the others would treat him less like   
  
an annoying kid brother and more like a peer -after all, he might be younger, but they'd all   
  
been chosen as generals at the same time. It wasn't as if Kunzite had to have seniority just for   
  
being oldest, even though he was the unofficial 'leader' of the four - sometimes even the five,   
  
as Endymion would submit to Kunzite's authority more readily than anyone else's. Zoisite put   
  
up with all of his friends' teasing most of the time, but once in a while he felt desperate for a   
  
little more respect....  
  
Being the first to bring such important news would surely make Jadeite pay him more   
  
respect.  
  
Caught in his excitement at the golden opportunity, Zoisite nearly missed the voices coming   
  
from one of the back rooms. It sounded as if Jadeite and Endymion were going at it again.   
  
Curious, Zoisite moved down the hall and stepped into the doorway.  
  
Endymion was, for some reason, dressed in a blue workman's uniform. He sat stiffly in a   
  
chair while Jadeite railed at him, his hands clenched at his knees.  
  
"I don't understand what you're so worried about! Look, it's just going to be for a week   
  
or two. A month at the most. What's the big problem?"  
  
"Maybe because it's illegal, maybe I don't trust you guys, maybe it's just an incredibly   
  
stupid idea? Take your pick."  
  
"It's not stupid," Jadeite said coaxingly, "and you can trust me. Listen! Do you have any   
  
idea what will happen if we can't get Prince Endymion in one form or another to the betrothal   
  
ceremony?"  
  
"I don't care about your little scandals -"  
  
Endymion was cut off as Jadeite slammed his fist down onto the table, finally losing his   
  
temper. "This isn't about some scandal!" he shouted. "If that were all, I'd let the prince deal   
  
with it himself. It might teach him something, although I doubt it. Don't you pay any attention   
  
to the system's current events?"  
  
What was going on? Zoisite slipped into the room, ignored by both its inhabitants. There   
  
was something he didn't understand yet.  
  
"I have classes. I have work. I want to study with the Healers one day- do you think I   
  
have time for politics?"  
  
"Let me explain something to you, then." Jadeite leaned down to rest his arm on the back   
  
of Endymion's chair. "Your government needs this alliance as much as ours does, and I'm not   
  
about to let it fall apart because of Endy's carelessness or your squeamishness. If you don't   
  
follow politics, how about the news? Heard anything about the Guiardo Pirates lately?"  
  
Zoisite, more confused than ever, broke in at the mention of something he did understand.   
  
"They attacked Pluto today, and Serenity's sending the Guard as relief!"  
  
He caught their attention then; both Endymion and Jadeite turned to face him, startled at   
  
the intrusion. Jadeite recovered first.  
  
"When did you get - wait. What? What did you say?" He shoved past Zoisite and ran   
  
down the hall toward the control room.  
  
"And I thought you might not have heard...." Zoisite realized he was talking to thin air,   
  
Endymion having disappeared right behind Jadeite. He quickly followed them, curiosity   
  
driving him as much as his fear of being left out.  
  
When Zoisite caught up to the other two in the control room, Jadeite had already run up the   
  
communit's circuits and was busy looking for a news update. "Come on, come on!" Jadeite   
  
muttered under his breath. "Hurry up!"  
  
"I thought it was broken?" Zoisite said to no one in particular.  
  
"He fixed it," Jadeite tossed over his shoulder with a head jerk in the prince's direction.  
  
"Are you serious? Endymion couldn't -" Zoisite stopped himself, both out of loyalty to his   
  
prince and fear of his anger.  
  
"S'not Endy. Zoisite, meet Chiba Mamoru. Mamoru, meet Zoisite." Jadeite said   
  
distractedly. He pounded a few more keys and watched the news load on the vidscreen.  
  
Zoisite had no time to process this startling information. The official report from the   
  
Guard's office appeared on the screen, and the news was worse than he'd thought. The three   
  
of them read in silence.  
  
The Guiardo Pirates had attacked, not Pluto itself, but a secluded mining community on its   
  
moon, Charon. The Guard was on its way, hoping to arrive in a few hours. Pluto had sent its   
  
own reserves immediately, of course, but being a sparsely populated planet, was calling   
  
desperately for assistance. The death count was reported to be at ninety, with another three   
  
hundred or more critically wounded. The numbers kept going up as more miners and their   
  
families were found among the ruins of their cities.  
  
As text scrolled across the screen with every new update, Jadeite turned to Mamoru   
  
somberly. "Now do you see why we need you?" he asked. "A situation like this one is too   
  
serious for anything to interfere with our planet helping yours. If Endymion isn't at that   
  
ceremony, it'll create a diplomatic incident - and it wouldn't take much to push the bureaucrats   
  
into declaring another withdrawal from system interaction. There are enough of them already   
  
saying our reinstatement of treaty and trade was a mistake...."  
  
Zoisite thought he was beginning to get the picture. Endymion had disappeared on one of   
  
his jaunts again, except this time the generals didn't have the luxury of looking for him. And   
  
somewhere Jadeite had found this look-alike to fill in....  
  
As Mamoru processed this argument, Jadeite continued. "What was it you wanted,   
  
Mamoru? Entry into the Healer's Collegium? When this is all over, I'll get the Queen to   
  
sponsor you. I can tell her you helped us out with ship troubles - which wouldn't even be a   
  
lie. If you won't do it for your kingdom, at least do it for yourself!"  
  
"I like to think I've never been someone who had to be bribed into doing the right thing,"   
  
Mamoru said slowly. "If you're really convinced you need me...."  
  
Jadeite nodded, his eyes never leaving Mamoru's face. "We do."  
  
"Then I'll do it."  
  
**  
  
The audience hall was quiet and empty. With the chandeliers extinguished, the only light in   
  
the hall was a soft, cool grey filtering indirectly through the windows; not enough to illuminate   
  
anything but the basic outlines of objects. Queen Serenity reflected that the room mirrored   
  
her mood quite neatly. Dark, quiet... and empty.  
  
She sat lightly on the wide arm of her throne, looking to the distance at nothing in   
  
particular. Her petition court that morning had been stopped short when news of the attack   
  
on Charon reached her. Serenity had immediately halted the proceedings, cutting   
  
Ambassador Tikal off mid-sentence (for which she would have to apologize formally, later)   
  
and ordering her council members to be sent for. She'd spent the next long hours in heavy   
  
debate and intense planning until finally there was nothing more that could be done. The   
  
council had dispersed, some to hurry after their duties, others to wait until called upon, and   
  
Serenity herself had returned to the now-empty audience hall to wait for news and to think   
  
over the situation.  
  
She was almost ashamed to admit to herself that her first thought had been, not for the   
  
miners and their families, but for her daughter and her friends... even though Sere's scheduled   
  
itinerary took her nowhere near the outer planets. Ashamed, because who could tolerate a   
  
queen whose concern was not with her subjects? Almost, because who could respect a   
  
mother who cared not for her only child?  
  
Serenity's only saving grace was her ability to mask the dead and injured on Charon   
  
behind a wall of statistics. Cold, hard, faceless numbers could not impact her judgment.... If   
  
she once allowed herself to think of the children without parents, the families killed in   
  
explosions, the miners trapped underground until they slowly suffocated, the people she   
  
should have protected, she would be useless... she would be torn apart... she... would....  
  
With a cry, the queen fell off the throne and onto her knees, burying her face in her hands   
  
and loosing the tears she'd been keeping back all day.   
  
A soft sound of slippered feet startled Serenity, and she looked through her fingers to see   
  
Luna standing next to her. "Majesty?" the yellow-garbed woman said tentatively. "Should I   
  
send for someone?"  
  
"That's alright, Luna. We aren't in company...." She wiped her eyes, even though she   
  
knew the tears would return soon enough. Luna was her advisor and closest friend, and   
  
Serenity was glad for the company. She needed someone who wouldn't expect her to be the   
  
stalwart, commanding ruler she so often had to be.  
  
"I hope you don't mind, then...." In a shimmer of light, Luna shrank down into a small   
  
black cat and leapt onto the queen's lap. "It's difficult maintaining a form that big. I wish they   
  
could get used to seeing me like this.... It'd make court so much easier on me."  
  
"And so much more interesting, no? Especially for some of those delegates from Canis   
  
Major." Serenity smiled in spite of herself.  
  
Luna reached out her front paws, dipping her back and carefully unsheathing her claws to   
  
stretch. She settled down and curled up, content to wait if she needed to, or to listen. She   
  
watched Serenity with careful eyes.  
  
The queen absently stroked Luna's back, staring into the distance. Then she seized the cat   
  
up and held her close, burying her wet face in her fur. "Oh, Luna...." she sobbed. "What can   
  
I do? They all expect me to... to.... There's no way to fix this...."  
  
Luna shimmered back into her human form and knelt on the floor next to her queen, her   
  
friend, and wrapped her in a close embrace. "I'm here, Serenity. I'm here...." 


	5. In which Senshi are born

Well, folks, here's chapter four, and sorry for the long delay to anyone who was waiting for it…. ; Thanks go, as always, to my wonderful beta-reader Syrinx, to Dragon Knight Slade for his advice, and to Naoko Takeuchi for letting us play in her universe.  
  
Lurker 5/10/04  
  
"Is she still asleep?"  
  
Rei carefully let the door to Sere's quarters slide shut. "I don't want to wake her.   
  
Do you?"  
  
"No, but someone will have to." Makoto sighed. "I don't think she'll take the news   
  
well."  
  
"Would anyone? Don't worry, I'll tell her."  
  
Rei stepped into the room quietly. The atmosphere on the ship had been somber   
  
ever since word of the pirate attack had reached them – but their princess,   
  
characteristically sleeping late, had heard nothing of the news yet.  
  
As Rei approached the bed, she noticed that Sere looked pale and tense, even in her   
  
sleep. Her golden hair was matted up with sweat on the pillow, and Rei could see a   
  
frantic flicker of movement beneath her eyelids. She bolted upright with a cry, her eyes   
  
wide. Rei was immediately by her side.  
  
"Serenity? Serenity! Are you okay?" Rei put an arm around her and rubbed her   
  
shoulder.  
  
"Just…. just a dream. I'm okay." Sere's pulse gradually returned to normal, and   
  
she took a deep shuddering breath.  
  
"Are you sure?" Rei didn't want to let Sere's obvious strain go so easily, but her   
  
task and news were more important. She paused for a moment, trying to plan her   
  
words. "We – I need to tell you something. What do you remember about the Guiardo   
  
Pirates?"  
  
"Let me think…. They're raiders who've been operating just outside the Silver   
  
Millennium's jurisdiction, so we haven't been able to do anything about them. They   
  
tend to hit small outposts, or remote communities, generally just grabbing any   
  
valuables in a lightning strike, not waiting for extended engagement." Sere scratched   
  
behind her ear thoughtfully. "Ah – Rei, what's this about? Surely you didn't come in   
  
here just for a quiz?"  
  
"No. Serenity, the Guiardo Pirates attacked Charon." Surely it was better just to get   
  
it out and done with, Rei thought.  
  
"Was it… bad?" Sere's head was low, so Rei couldn't make out her expression.  
  
"Bad enough," Rei said. "There have been near two hundred found dead."  
  
Sere winced at the words, but nodded. "Go on."  
  
Rei steeled herself to continue, delivering the information in a near monotone. "The   
  
wounded count is at five hundred, with more than half the outpost still unexplored.   
  
Your mother has deployed all available Guards to assist Pluto. The Healers are sending   
  
every volunteer they can find. How – how much do you want to know right now?"  
  
Serenity stared up at her friend, her face even paler than before. Unshed tears hung   
  
in the corners of her eyes. "Everything. Tell me all of it."  
  
As Rei kept on, describing destroyed mines, buildings now in rubble, emergency   
  
evacuation ships and the makeshift cemetery being dug just outside of the main outpost,   
  
Sere's tears began to fall. When Rei told her of the civilians who'd volunteered to go   
  
with the Guard to set up a makeshift care facility for the children who'd been orphaned,   
  
the tears turned into a flood. Sere hunched over on the edge of her bed, holding her gut   
  
with arms wrapped tightly around herself, sobbing.  
  
Rei put her arms around her princess and held her as closely as she could.  
  
"Rei." Sere looked up, her face a mixture of pale white and blotchy red. "We have   
  
to go help."  
  
"You know we can't."  
  
"We have to! What else matters right now?"  
  
"Serenity, listen to me." Rei took a firm hold of her shoulders. "Earth has sent   
  
reinforcements to hunt for the Guiardo Pirates. Earth! And it's all because of your   
  
engagement to their prince. There are only five of us. We couldn't make a difference   
  
on Charon – but Earth can. The best thing we can do for them is continue on." She   
  
watched Sere carefully.  
  
With a hiccup, the princess nodded. "You're right." She brushed at the tears that   
  
continued to fall. "You're right." Sere leaned into her friend's embrace.  
  
The room was large, but crowded with papers, bulky furniture, and what Jadeite had   
  
selected for props – namely, random objects that had been selected to fill in for crowns,   
  
thrones, and even people during what Mamoru was coming to think of as "snob   
  
training." He wasn't at all sure he liked the character of the prince he was supposed to   
  
emulate.   
  
As soon as Jadeite had secured Mamoru's cooperation, he had whisked Mamoru off   
  
to the rear quarters for drilling, leaving Zoisite to oversee liftoff preparations. The   
  
lessons hadn't gone well so far, as evidenced by Mamoru's frustration and Jadeite's   
  
growing exasperation….  
  
"You're doing it all wrong," Jadeite complained. "Prince Endymion doesn't walk   
  
like that at all. It's kind of – if you move your – try like this." He made several false   
  
starts at walking across the room, and then gave up. "Damn. Nephrite, you can do it.   
  
Come show him."  
  
"I don't care to," Nephrite said from behind a news printout. "You got yourself into   
  
this, after all, and it's hardly the first harebrained scheme you've come up with."   
  
"Yeah, but it'll be your neck too if we show up back on Earth with no Prince…."  
  
Mamoru shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He was already starting to regret his   
  
commitment to help these strangers, and the perceived animosity between the two men   
  
who were supposed to be teaching him didn't much improve his mood.  
  
"Fine." Nephrite tossed his paper aside. He stood, brushing at his shirt   
  
absentmindedly. "Watch me, repairman."  
  
As Mamoru watched, Nephrite underwent a complete change in manner. His chin   
  
stiffened, his eyes narrowed, and he clomped across the floor as if he were trying to kill   
  
beetles under his shoes. He halted not six inches from Mamoru's nose and stared at   
  
him coldly until Mamoru decided he'd had enough.  
  
"Out of my way." He shoved past Nephrite and flopped into a chair.  
  
"Ha! I knew you could do it." Jadeite clapped Mamoru on the shoulder. "Now just   
  
keep that attitude up, and you'll have Endymion down in no time."  
  
"What? You can't be serious. You mean your prince really does act like that?"  
  
"Oh, not all the time. This is just what you might call a base template." Nephrite   
  
settled back to his observer's post. "The real Endy is much more complex and   
  
intriguing – at least, when he wants to be."  
  
"I don't know if I can do this," Mamoru mumbled. Jadeite caught the quiet words.  
  
"Of course you can. You have to." Jadeite handed Mamoru a computer printout.   
  
"Here's a list of Endymion's favorite things, his least favorites, relationships, old girls,   
  
current girls…. Am I leaving anything out, Nef?"  
  
"Enemies whose girls he stole…."  
  
"Right, right. I'll put those on the end here." Jadeite poked through the pile of junk   
  
on the end table until he found a stylus. "Lessee…. The Duke of Sicily, Lord Charles   
  
Bentley, Baron Leslie Richards…."  
  
"Baron Richards is on extended vacation at his country house, remember?"   
  
Nephrite said.  
  
"Oh, that's right." A knowing smirk spread across Jadeite's face. "He told   
  
everyone it was for his wife's poor health. Hah! More like his poor health when she   
  
found out about his chere amour! Anyway, Nef's right. You won't have to worry   
  
about him." He scratched the name out.  
  
"I'm… confused," Mamoru said. Actually, with the way he felt, confused wasn't a   
  
strong enough word. 'Completely lost' might have better described his state of mind.  
  
"Don't concern yourself about it," Nephrite offered. "Endymion's usually too busy   
  
causing gossip to pay much attention to anything that doesn't concern him   
  
personally…. And by the way, Jadeite. You call me 'Nef' one more time, and they'll   
  
never find your body."  
  
"I… Ah… Uh-huh." Jadeite looked about to shoot off a wisecrack, but said nothing   
  
else.  
  
"So this is what I have to learn?" Mamoru reached for the sheets in Jadeite's hand.   
  
Well, he thought as he flipped through them, it couldn't be too much worse than the   
  
studies he'd been taking in preparation for the Collegium. At least, he hoped not. Then   
  
again, the es in medicine and healing had never conveyed with them this same   
  
acute sense of penalty should he fail….  
  
Jadeite nodded. "That'll do for now. If you'll start looking those over, I'll go check   
  
on Zoisite. I don't quite trust him to handle liftoff by himself. Oh, and Nef, would –   
  
uh, Nephrite," he corrected himself at the cold flash in his fellow general's eyes,   
  
"Would you mind helping him out? Just a little, in case he has any questions."  
  
"I don't see that I have much of a choice."  
  
"Thanks, you're a pal. I'll be up in the control room, then."  
  
As Jadeite disappeared through the doorway, Mamoru turned his full concentration   
  
to memorizing the information before him. As long as I've got to be a prince, he   
  
thought with a wry smile, I might as well do it right.  
  
Molly Guiardo settled back into her command chair, quite satisfied with the day's   
  
work. Her crew had performed well, seizing enough of the processed Parcian ore to   
  
power their engines for the next year. Since the ore deposits were fairly rare, and the   
  
mineral itself was vital in providing energy for cost-practical spaceflight, Molly was   
  
surprised that the mines hadn't been better protected.  
  
It wasn't that important, although the lack of security puzzled her. With no   
  
organized resistance facing them, her people had managed to accomplish their   
  
secondary objective, destroying buildings and factories with a vengeance even though it   
  
wasn't a part of their normal operations. That in itself made her realize that she'd better   
  
watch them carefully during the next few missions, to make sure they didn't get used to   
  
creating wanton mayhem. The relative lack of civilian casualties throughout her crew's   
  
operations was likely the only reason interplanetary authorities in one system or another   
  
hadn't made an all-out effort to hunt her ship down. If it hadn't been for the lucrative   
  
fee offered to her for this one job….  
  
That reminded Molly, and she swiveled her chair a half-turn to face her second in   
  
command. "Jenkins, get our friend Richelieu on the screen. I'm sure he's heard the   
  
news by now, and I want our bonus."  
  
Jenkins nodded and 'commed down to the systems room. After a few brief   
  
moments, the main screen buzzed to life. Molly waited, tapping her fingers against the   
  
armrest of her command chair until a figure appeared there.  
  
Molly Guiardo had never actually seen the face of her client. She assumed he was   
  
male, from the voice, but distortions in the signal made even that conclusion suspect.   
  
He always appeared for their conferences dressed, as now, in a dark red robe with a   
  
hood that covered his face in fabric and shadow. Richelieu, as he had asked to be   
  
called, was apparently someone who greatly valued his privacy.  
  
"Mission accomplished," Molly said with a grin. "You've heard the newscasts?"  
  
"Yes. I am quite impressed. You did destroy each of the processing factories?"  
  
Molly nodded. "The factories, the warehouses, and we blocked all the mine   
  
entrances." Richelieu had been very insistent, when he first commissioned the job, that   
  
every possible mining and manufacturing facility had to be ruined. Molly had   
  
wondered then, and on some occasions since then, what the purpose was. Maybe he   
  
owned a rival Parcian mine somewhere? But then, it didn't pay to speculate too much   
  
in Molly's line of work. That could lead one to an "accident."  
  
"Very good." The hood bobbed, and Molly could only assume that somewhere   
  
within its folds Richelieu was nodding his head. "No less than I expected from such   
  
distinguished individuals."  
  
She couldn't tell if Richelieu was making fun of her from behind his cloak or not.   
  
"And the payment?"   
  
"Will be waiting for you, as agreed, on Station Twelve. Perhaps we shall do   
  
business again." With that, the display winked out.  
  
Molly couldn't manage to completely repress her shudder as she swiveled her chair   
  
back to face her lieutenant. Temporary employer or no, Richelieu had an eerie effect   
  
on her. "Jenkins, you heard the man. Buzz down to navigation and set course for   
  
Station Twelve."  
  
High heels clicked in unison as Haruka and Michiru strode, in perfect   
  
synchronization, down the nearly deserted hallway leading to Queen Serenity's   
  
chambers. A palace guard stationed outside nodded to them as they approached.  
  
"You're expected inside, Your Highnesses," he said as he rapped once on the door,   
  
then pulled it open. "The Queen wanted you to go right in."  
  
Michiru glanced at her friend, then nodded. The two stepped together through the   
  
doorway into the receiving room where Queen Serenity sat. The queen's white gown   
  
caught the dim light and reflected it, making it look as though Serenity were glowing   
  
softly. As she turned to face them, the two princesses could see that her face was pale   
  
and tear-streaked, and her eyes were red.  
  
"Your Majesty?" Haruka stepped forward to kneel. "We are at your service."   
  
Behind her, Michiru copied the motion – no easy maneuver, in their gowns.  
  
Serenity waved her hand, motioning them both up. "Please. Sit."   
  
They did so, drawing comfortable chairs up to the couch where the queen sat. As   
  
she did so, Michiru wondered what Serenity could want from them. They'd heard of   
  
the attack, of course, as had everyone in the palace, but neither Haruka nor herself had   
  
any large amount of influence or power on the moon. To be quite honest, Michiru had   
  
little pull even on her own planet – Neptune was ostensibly a monarchy, but the   
  
Council of Commons controlled all the law-making and enforcement. Michiru herself   
  
was in effective exile, on permanent delegation to the Moon Queen's entourage while   
  
the Council worked to reduce the efficacy of the nobility even further. She wished   
  
there were something she could do to help, but could think of nothing.  
  
"I'm glad you've both come," Queen Serenity began. She seemed all right, but   
  
Michiru could tell that speaking was difficult. Her voice seemed strained as she   
  
continued. "I want you to know, first of all, that I am not commanding this of you. I   
  
am asking. And if you refuse, there will be no penalty. Either way, however, I will   
  
expect you to remain silent on the subject of this meeting."  
  
Michiru glanced at Haruka, only to see her friend looking back at her. The emotion   
  
reflected in Haruka's eyes was the same, Michiru was sure, as she herself was   
  
displaying. With that silent assent, Michiru spoke.  
  
"If we can do anything to help you, or the Silver Millennium, we'll do it. Just tell us   
  
what you need."  
  
Tears sparkled in the corners of the queen's eyes, and she took a deep breath. "I   
  
thank you, Michiru. However, you may change your minds once you hear my request,   
  
so please understand that I would not hold that against you." Opening the locket she   
  
wore on a gold chain around her neck, Serenity took out the Ginzuishou. It glittered in   
  
the faint light, and Michiru caught her breath. The crystal was not a sight one   
  
encountered every day – or, for that matter, every year. The last time Michiru   
  
remembered seeing it was three years ago, when the queen had used it to endow each of   
  
the four princesses of the inner planets with the magical powers of a senshi….  
  
"The Guiardo Pirates attacked Charon, destroyed the outpost, and killed many   
  
people," Serenity said. "I will not allow them to escape. If you agree, I would send the   
  
both of you out of the system, to find the pirates and infiltrate their organization.   
  
However," she forestalled the princess's reactions by raising a hand, "I would not send   
  
you unprotected. The powers of a senshi would do much for you."  
  
Haruka shook her head. "We would be proud to serve you, Your Majesty, but why   
  
us? My family has never been particularly supportive of your reign, and so I can't see   
  
why you would trust me with this power."  
  
"Your family, perhaps, I would not trust overmuch. You yourself, however…."   
  
Serenity leaned out to take the younger woman's hand. "You have been a part of my   
  
court since you were young. You have proven your loyalty to me over the years, and it   
  
is you, Haruka, to whom I would entrust this burden. Not to your family, but to you."  
  
Michiru knew that it would take Haruka a moment to fully comprehend. On her   
  
home planet of Uranus, family loyalty was above all – it was all. It would be hard for   
  
the sandy-haired woman to separate her concept of herself, as a trusted member of   
  
Serenity's inner court, from her family's subversive actions, and to realize that in the   
  
queen's eyes, those actions did not reflect on Haruka herself. It would be hard, but   
  
Michiru had faith in her friend.  
  
After a few moments, Haruka raised her head and nodded slowly. "Thank you,   
  
Serenity." It was the first time she had called the queen by name, with no title, and   
  
Serenity accepted it somberly as the gift of friendship that it was.  
  
"And you, Michiru?" she asked, turning her head toward the Neptunian princess.   
  
"Are you willing, as well, to accept this task?"  
  
Michiru wasted little time in thought. She'd never enjoyed the back-stabbing and   
  
subtle warring the royal family on Neptune engaged in during their fights for power   
  
against the Council of Commons – part of the reason she'd been so long on the Moon.   
  
Accepting the responsibility of a senshi would ensure she would never have to return   
  
home… and would allow her to fight for a just cause this time. "I would be honored."  
  
Queen Serenity nodded, a look of pride shining through the sadness in her eyes. She   
  
stood, and, raising the Ginzuishou, began to focus energy within it. Instinctively,   
  
Haruka and Michiru rose from their seats to kneel before her.  
  
Serenity's eyes closed in concentration as the light from her crystal grew. It danced   
  
over the two princesses, bathing them in a warmth like none they'd experienced before.   
  
Michiru felt as if her soul were expanding to the very limits of her skin, basking in the   
  
power of the Ginzuishou; as if nothing were impossible as long as the hope of that light   
  
existed. She felt ocean waves crashing over her, drenching her hair and body, and yet   
  
felt completely dry. It was a sensation she knew she would never forget.  
  
As the light faded, Michiru opened her eyes to find herself dressed in the garb of a   
  
senshi, in dark blues and greens, but with a few alterations from the uniform she'd seen   
  
on Minako or the others. The bows were longer, and the brooch a heart shape instead   
  
of the round gem she'd expected….  
  
Queen Serenity smiled a bit in answer to her silent question. "The younger girls will   
  
have to grow into their power. You can handle more than they, and so I gave you a bit   
  
of a head start. You should find the use of your abilities to be nearly instinctive; I'm   
  
afraid there are no manuals on this sort of thing."  
  
Michiru glanced toward Haruka to see how she was taking all this. The newly   
  
appointed Sailor Uranus was dressed much the same as Michiru herself, but in s of   
  
navy and gold. Michiru wondered whether she'd felt the same ocean waves during   
  
their transformation.  
  
"You won't be needing these alter-egos all the time," Serenity continued. "In fact,   
  
since you'll both be undercover, I expect using it will be something of a very last resort.   
  
However, you'll probably want to find someplace private, where you can test   
  
yourselves and discover the extents of your powers." She sank back into the couch,   
  
drained. Michiru thought with a guilty start that granting them senshi powers must   
  
have taken quite a bit of the queen's personal energy, not only the crystal's.  
  
"Before you do that, I'd like to explain some things to you." Serenity said as she   
  
returned the Ginzuishou to its hiding place within her locket. "You'll have to rely on   
  
your own judgment once you leave the system, but I have some information and some   
  
directives for you... and someone you'll need to meet."  
  
Neptune and Uranus resumed their seats by the couch, ready to listen to their queen. 


End file.
